And the Winner of Liberia’s 1st Qualified Men’s Marathon is…

An Ethiopian by the name of Mehari Gebre. But no matter, young Liberian Lucy Massaquoi,16, took the gold in the women’s event and a fun time was had by all.

The event, which was held on August 28th, was the brain-child of BHP Billiton, the Australian mining and energy giant who has recently taken a $3 billion stake in Liberia’s iron ore potential that includes the redevelopment of rail and port infrastructure.

According to Mining Weekly, commenting at the time of signing of the deal in mid-2010:

BHP Billiton’s decision to further investment in Africa comes amid a furore over the Australian government’s decision to implement a super profits tax of 40% on resource profits.

It is assumed that Billiton will find the tax and investment climate a bit more relaxed in Liberia under the stewardship of Liberia’s President Sirleaf who impressively at age 73 also ran a part of the course accompanied by Billiton’s CEO Jeffry Zweig who had this to offer:

I congratulate you for showing the world some of the best that this country has to offer: patriotism, athletic excellence, and true sportsmanship.

One can only hope that these virtues carry-over into the upcoming Liberian Presidential election campaign which already shows little sign of excellence or sportsmanship.

Correction:The Marathon was organized by the non-profit Liberia Marathon Trust not BHBP which was the title sponsor.